


Of Flowers and Flames

by sierra_nevada2



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Dragons, Enemies, F/M, Fairytail, Fantasy, Fire, Flowers, Gale - Freeform, Gruvia - Freeform, Love, Nalu - Freeform, jerza - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-26
Updated: 2018-12-12
Packaged: 2019-01-23 08:46:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12503520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sierra_nevada2/pseuds/sierra_nevada2
Summary: Lucy Heartfilia is apart of a tribe of people who gather power from the stars. She is destined to become the leader of her tribe but first Shen must reach her peak power. To reach her peak power and become the leader her people desperately need, she must do one thing; steal the heart of a Dragon.





	1. Prologue

Of Flowers and Flames  
Prologue  
“Lucy, it’s time.” the gruff voice of one of the elders startled Lucy causing the beautiful flower to slip out of her pubescent fingers.  
Lucy’s heart lightly ached when it hit the ground with a soft slap, flowers were sacred to the Celestials and she didn’t like to feel as if she had abused one. The Rose laid on the dirty floor with a deep red that was the color of her bestfriend's hair. Erza had already gotten her own flower and finally Lucy was going to get her own! Seeing everybody else choose their own special flower had made Lucy envious, and once she realized how she was feeling she quickly shut out the poisonous feeling.  
This was it!  
She had finally turned thirteen and would be able to pick her very own flower, it was a big deal for everyone who lived in the Bloomstar tribe. In her tribe there were two things that were sacred; stars and flowers.  
Her tribe had a special woman that could draw power from the diamonds that lived in the night sky. She was called a Kadupul and if she used her powers right, then she could even ask favors from the stars. The Kadupul was the leader of her tribe, but she was rarely seen since she was considered a sacred vessel for her people.  
Lucy was very proud of being a Celestial, they were one of the most powerful beings that lived in Magnolia. There were only two other species that could use magic and the Celestial tribes tried very hard to avoid seeing them, thinking of them, or even speaking their names. All three species had been enemies for thousands of years and they had had their fair share of fights.  
Lucy reached down to pick up the scarlet rose that reminded her of the flower that Erza had picked just a few days before.  
“Before we go to the center of the village for your flower choosing, we are going to have to make a quick stop.”  
Lucy tilted her head to the side and furrowed her eyes in confusion, “For what?”  
“Just a visit.”  
'Seriously?’ she thought, ‘I have been waiting for this moment for years and they are going to make me wait even longer just so that they can visit someone?’  
She let out a small sigh and just gave the older man a smile. He returned the gesture with a smile that was more gums than teeth but Lucy wasn’t discouraged, she thought his smile fit his easy going manner.  
He led her out of the tent and into their brightly colored village. Everything in the tribe smelt like flowers and they were living in the most amazing part of Fiore, there were barely any trees in the clearing and that made for an awfully big sky. Lucy turned her head towards the glittering void and gazed longingly when she saw an especially bright shooting star.  
“This way.” he called out to her when she found herself just walking on autopilot to the center of the village. Lucy could feel a bright blush in her cheeks and she embarrassedly turned to follow her Elder. She petted the rose in her hand to comfort her nerves but she cut her finger on a thorn and a single drop of blood trailed down the digit.  
She hissed quietly and stuck it in her mouth, tasting the metallic liquid on her tongue.  
“Here we are.” her elder stated when he stopped in front of the biggest tent that was pitched in their village. It was decorated in blue cloth and had tons of glimmering jewelry tied to it or thrown around it as an offering to the one that lived inside. She knew this place.  
“This is where the Kadupul lives. Why are we here?” she questioned with curiosity shimmering in her eyes.  
“She has requested to speak with you tonight before your ceremony.”  
That's odd. The Kadupul never requested to speak with anyone, especially not a girl that was barely in her teens. She only ever requested to speak to people of importance, unless…  
“Did I do something wrong?” asked Lucy, her eyes starting to well with premature tears, “I'm sorry! I'll never do anything wrong ever again! I just want to bathe in the petals of my flower, that's all!”  
Once a teen picks their flower they are immediately supposed to bathe in the petals of their flower of choice. That is when they reach their peak of magical power. The people in the village feed off of the Kadupul who takes power from the stars. That power is then transferred to the flowers at the choosing ceremony and the teen is then able to channel their own magic for the very first time.  
If they don’t have a Kadupul to give them power then they aren't able to have their own special abilities and then they would be defenseless against the Draki and Inks.  
“Hush child!” The elders hands were held up in a reassuring position and he placed his hand on top of her head. “She only wants to speak with you.” Lucy wiped away the rest of her tears and nodded her head.  
“Should I go inside?”  
“Yes, hurry on now, you mustn't keep her waiting!”  
Lucy reluctantly opened the flaps of the tent and pushed her way inside. She was immediately hit with a sweet smelling aroma of a flower. Lucy could tell that it was a natural scent but she couldn’t pinpoint what type.  
The inside of the tent was humongous and everything was covered in a beautiful golden hue that was a lot like her hair. Lucy was proud of her gold-plated hair and her dark gold eyes, she thought that it made her special in a village where everyone had special hair colors.  
Lucy continued to slowly tiptoe through the tent when she came upon a room that was covered in fabric. It was perfectly hanging from every corner and as many pieces of gold that you could count were attached to the icy blue. Lucy then noticed the woman who was sitting in the middle of the room with her eyes shut with a relaxed smile resting on her mouth.  
Lucy didn’t know how to approach a woman of such power and so she sat down in front of the Kadupul with a kind of awkwardness that can’t even be taught. The Kadupul was older than Lucy had imagined with silver hairs entangling with the chestnut brown that was in a braid and trailing down her back. She had plenty of happy wrinkles, full lips, and a small nose. She was a beautiful Queen of the night and Lucy found herself hoping to be as beautiful when she grows older.  
Lucy’s hand trembled as she reached for the woman’s hand and winced the closer that it got, “Excuse me!” she shouted, a lot louder than she meant for it to be. The Kadupul’s eyes shot wide open and for a second Lucy could see the stars in her eyes. Lucy quickly jumped back when she realized what she had done and her mouth opened before she could stop it.  
“I am so sorry my lady of stars! I didn’t mean to disturb you so suddenly! You had called me and so I came in and you were meditating or something-”  
“Lucy Heartfilia, do not worry. I was only conversing with the stars, no harm has been done.” Lucy found herself staring into the eyes of her leader and she couldn’t tear them away. The Kadupul’s eyes were like two pools of virgin water, they were a pure color of blue that was to mesmerizing and she felt her heart slow as she dived deeper into the wisdom that resided in this woman’s eyes.  
Then she was struck with what the Kadupul had said.  
“Only conversing with the stars? What do you mean! That is so important and I completely interrupted it! I'm so sorry!”  
Lucy could see amusement building in her eyes and she just felt her face heat up even more then it was before.  
“Do not fret child. I have summoned you for good reason.”  
Lucy hoped that it would be quick because she was still super excited about her choosing ceremony. She wondered what kind of flower she would pick. Would it be a violet? A tulip? A daisy?  
“You see, you are here because…,”  
A lily? A sunflower? A rose?  
“You are to be the next Kadupul.”  
A Kadupul.


	2. Lucy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy is now of age and can become the next leader of her tribe, but to do this she must face a task that she never thought she would have to do. She must steal the heart of a dragon. She must go on a journey soon in sought of the heart that will bring her tribe power like never before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A Kadupul flower is the rarest flower that blooms on this earth. It is priceless and extraordinary. Just like how Lucy is to her tribe, let's see what they have in store for her.

“Lucy! Lucy you need to get up, it’s happening!” cried a voice inside of Lucy’s tent. The voice belonged to a friend of Lucy’s but she couldn’t quite place who it was in her drowsy state. “What’s happening?” she groaned into her thin blanket. “It’s your birthday! You have come of age!” Lucy’s friend, who she could now pinpoint as Erza, shook her and practically pulled her out of bed with a smile on her face.  
Lucy nodded her head in a weak attempt at excitement and felt her heavy eyes try to close. “Oh no you don’t! You have to get dressed, you have to go talk to the Kadupul before she joins the stars!” This made Lucy’s eyes open wide and she started to put her jeweled clothing on. “I can’t believe I am eighteen now. It’s been five years since I have been chosen and now I can finally take the steps to be the next Kadupul.” The previous Kadupul chose Lucy as the next lady of stars five long years ago and has since been transferring her magic into the Kadupul flowers that Lucy would be bathing in. But before Lucy could do that, she needed to turn eighteen and the present Kadupul would have to pass away amongst the flowers.  
Lucy pulled her favorite outfit on and wondered if it was too much. It was an outfit that showed a lot of skin, as the Celestials were not ones to hide their bodies too much, it covered just enough to make it seem modest even among her people. The hot temperatures of Fiore were what made the Celestials so keen to small articles of clothing and Lucy wore enough to cover her breasts and backside but left her stomach and limbs exposed. It was covered in strings of gold and plated with amber and sapphire jewels. Sapphires hung from Lucy’s ears and an amber crown sat on top of her head. These jewels were also placed around her ankles and wrists and even one accompanied the side of her nose. “Do I look good enough to be presented in front of the Kadupul?”  
“You look perfect Lucy. I think you will be just fine.” Erza said, reassuring her friend. Erza was dressed in the same manner, covered in rubies and emeralds, to pay homage to her own flower, the Rose. After Erza chose the Rose as her flower, the Kadupul granted her the power of transformation and Erza was able to make any weapon appear at her very thought of it. Lucy never thought she could do better than that. “Do you think I should braid my hair or leave it down?” Lucy questioned as she twirled a lock of golden hair around her finger. “Keep it down, it looks more natural.”  
“I hope that the transition will be easy,” Lucy said as she turned around to face her friend “I only know that i’m supposed to bathe in the Kadupul flowers but I can’t help but think that there is more to it.” Erza shrugged and stood up to put her hands on Lucy’s shoulders in a reassuring way. “Lucy I have heard many things about the transitioning process and I am sure that it will not be the easiest thing to do on earth. I do, however, have faith that you will do what you must to become our tribe’s pride and joy. You will become the leader. The lady of stars. The Kadupul. You must not fail. You are our only hope to remain strong for our allies and against our enemies. This is something that you just have to do.”  
Lucy was taken aback by her friend's truthful speech but found courage well inside of her chest. ‘She is right.’ Lucy thought ‘This is something that only I can do and it is something that I cannot fail at. I will become the next Kadupul.’  
“Okay!” Lucy said out loud and with a fierce confidence, “Lets go to the temple!”  
Lucy moved into the Kadupul tent two years when she turned sixteen and the Kadupul has since lived in the Temple to take care of the Kadupul flowers so that they would be perfect for when the tribe performs the transitioning ritual for Lucy. Erza and Lucy walked through their village and the sun's light reflected off of Lucy in a way that made all eyes on her. Men of the tribe gazed at her in lust and want and the women stared at her in wonder and jealousy.  
While they walked through the center of their village they spotted their friends Gray and Juvia practicing their magical qualities. Gray chose the blue Snapdragon which is one of the only flowers that blooms in cold weather. It was during fall when he picked and since the Snapdragons thrive in cold temperatures, it was the only time that they were even growing. The Kadupul granted him the gift of cold and ever since he has used ice and frost as his own power. Juvia also was also given the power over an element when she chose a light blue Water Lily on her choosing day. Her water powers were a blessing to their tribe when they had a horrible drought two years ago, Juvia didn’t bat an eye while she refilled lakes and rivers with only a small drop of the water that was left behind.  
Gray had icy diamonds scattered across his chest and had a single diamond resting on his left earlobe. Juvia had sky blue topaz jewels along her collarbone and on her belly button. “Hey Erza.” Said Gray as he wiped snow off of his hands and began to talk to Erza in hushed whispers.  
“Hello, love rival.” Juvia remarked in a rude tone once Lucy stood in front of her. Juvia had always had an obsession over Gray ever since they were all kids playing around in the village. Once she found out that their powers mirrored each others, there was no stopping her possessive ways. She has also always been super suspicious of Lucy and has always thought that she was after Gray, which has never been true at all… except for an innocent crush when they were eight.  
“Hi, Juvia! How are you doing today?” Lucy responded with a happy tone. Despite Juvia’s often rude manner towards Lucy, they had always been friends and Lucy never truly took it to heart. “Juvia is just doing wonderful! All day Juvia and her love have been training together, to make sure that our magic is at an all time high for Lucy’s ritual!” The animated girl talked wildly with her hands and it was almost enough to distract Lucy from her words. “Why for my ritual?” Juvia’s face turned paler than before and Gray jumped in to save her. “You're not supposed to know the details of the ritual until the Kadupul tells you so. I’m sure that she will tell you today since it will be her last day on this earth so don’t worry too much.” he said while he put an arm on her shoulder and the group made their way towards the direction of the temple. Lucy, feeling Juvia’s jealous stare, shrugged Gray’s arm off of her shoulders and turned to face her three closest friends. “How do you guys already know about the ritual?”  
They all looked down sheepishly and then Erza made confident eye contact with Lucy, “Because we are to be your guardians of protection and guidance once you rise to your position as our leader.”  
Lucy took a few seconds to process this important information and then a bright smile lit up her face. “I couldn’t think of any better people be be by my side in the future years to come. They all gave her grins in return and they continued into the woods that were off to the side of the village. They eventually came across the golden temple that practically touched the sky.  
“Well you have fun climbing all of those stairs, we will be back in the village if you need us after your talk.” said Gray with a teasing tone. Erza gave her a big hug and whispered seriously in Lucy’s ear, “What you learn tonight will change your life. Make sure that it changes it in the right way. Have courage and do what you must.” Erza let go of Lucy and gave her a small smile. Juvia gave Lucy a shy squeeze of her hand and said, “Don’t tell anyone that Juvia let some things slip. Juvia has faith that you will help the tribe in whatever ways that you can.”  
“Knock knock dead kiddo.” Called out Gray and then he winced, “Actually… too soon.” For that remark he was rewarded with unapproving hits from both Juvia and Erza. Lucy cracked a smile and waved goodbye to the poor bastard.  
Lucy watched as her friends returned her wave goodbye and made their way back in the direction of their village and then she looked at the golden steps that she was dreading.  
*****  
After climbing what felt like millions of stairs, Lucy finally made her way to the top of the temple and entered through the open entrance. She continued to walk until she saw a golden light at the end of the corridor and pushed aside streams of gold that were hanging from the ceiling. When she walked in, all she could see were flowers and a golden pool of water. The pool of water seemed big enough to easily fit a couple of people in it if they were lying on their backs. It also was shallow enough for someone to not worry about drowning but a person would have to float on their backs for the bathing of flowers.  
The flowers that were surrounding the area were without a doubt Kadupul flowers, but they didn’t seem like they were quite ready to bloom yet. The scent of the flowers filled the air and Lucy couldn’t help but breathe in the beautiful smell as much as she could. This would be her scent for the rest of her life. The white flowers seemed to glow with a vibrant gold light and Lucy smiled at the beauty of them. Her attention was then turned back to the golden water and it seemed like the water was steaming, Lucy looked upwards and saw that there was no ceiling above the pool. She then walked to the edge of the pool and was about to dip her toe in the water when something else caught her off guard.  
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you sweetheart.” Lucy jumped back in surprise and quickly bowed in the presence of her soon to be predecessor. “There is no need for that dear, please follow me.” The Kadupul turned around quickly and walked deeper into where all of the flowers were growing, until she came to a bed of them that were all gathered closely together. She lowered herself until she was laying right on the flowers but they didn’t seem to move even a little bit. Her blue eyes sparkled as she looked at Lucy and she smiled. “You are going to be an amazing Kadupul. You will do amazing things for your people and you will inspire them in ways that they never have been before”  
Lucy looked down abashed and responded quietly, “I don’t know about that. I’m not exactly leader material.” when Lucy looked up again she was met with the confused face of a beautifully aged woman. “I have seen it in the stars therefore it must be true. Do you know why the Kadupul is our special flower? Why only one person gets to pick it?” Lucy shook her head. “That's because they are the rarest form of flowers that you can ever find. Only one Celestial at a time wields the power to have them even bloom at their preferred time. If it was up to the flowers themselves, they would bloom for one night at midnight and then die the next morning. They are special flowers, for special beings. You are that being now. Today I am going to join the stars and I will no longer be the Kadupul. I will once again be Odessa.”  
The lady of stars smiled genuinely at Lucy and her words made Lucy feel special. Lucy started to feel comfortable enough to ask the Kadupul questions, “My lady of stars-.”  
“Please call me Odessa. We are one and the same now Lucy.”  
Lucy gave the wise woman a quick smile and scratched the back of her neck awkwardly. “Um, uh, okay Odessa. Why is it that you only have been a Kadupul for fourteen years? That's an awfully short time.”  
Odessa nodded her head and brown strands of hair fell in front of her slightly wrinkled face. “I was found to be the next Kadupul when I was forty six, which is already unusual. Usually the Kadupul is found in her early teens but we were without a Kadupul for many years because I was not originally from the Bloomstar tribe. I was originally from the Floralknight tribe where I was trained to be a soldier for the Kadupul. It wasn’t until I traveled to the Bloomstar tribe that I recognized that there was no lady of stars and that was when the stars reached out to me.” Lucy leaned forward listening intently to every word that Odessa was telling her. “I had to prove myself as the Kadupul by making the Kadupul flower grow on my own. I was then moved here where I granted powers to my fellow tribe members and where I trained with powers of my own.”  
“You have your own powers?” asked Lucy in excitement, eager to learn more about her future abilities. Odessa gave her a pointed look, “I will get to that later.”  
“I was given three amazing people to watch my back and help me grow as a leader, they all sadly perished. You will also be given three very capable people, who I know as your very best friends. They are going to help you through your ritual process, along with the first elder of the village.” Lucy was relieved to hear that her friends would be with her during the ritual and even thrilled that the first elder, Master Makarov, would be there. He trained her in meditation and combat the past five years ever since she was found out to be the next Kadupul. He was a very strong man even though he was short and seemingly weak. Boy could he surprise some people.  
“As the lady of stars, you will be able to speak to the stars and have conversations with them. You can also channel the powers of the stars, including the zodiac.”  
“The zodiac?” Lucy questioned, never hearing this term before.  
“As Celestials we go by flowers when categorizing people, but there is another way to do this and the way is by Zodiac. What month were you born?”  
“I was born in the beginning of July.”  
“Then you would be considered a child of the Cancer zodiac.” explained Odessa with enthusiasm. Lucy continued to look at her in confusion and Odessa quickly wrapped up the conversation that was obviously going to go no where. “Nevermind. You’ll understand when you meet them.”  
Lucy twiddled her thumbs while her mind kept going over the same question over and over again. Odessa picked up on Lucy’s nervous energy and sighed, “Go on and ask me dear, I haven’t got all day! I have only limited time until I pass at this point. Ask away.”  
Lucy’s leg bounced with nervousness and she felt the question pass her lips, “What all does the ritual entail?”  
Odessa’s face turned serious and she looked down.  
“Well, first I have to pass away and my remaining power will go into these Kadupul flowers. They will finally bloom a month from now and that is when you will bathe amongst the petals, underneath the stars. But before that you must go on a journey by yourself into the farthest corner of Fiore, where the terrain is rocky and bare.”  
Lucy’s blood ran cold when Odessa told her where she had to travel to. Only one tribe of people live there, and the Celestials try very hard not to speak of that tribe. Unlike the Celestials who have multiple smaller tribes surrounding the leading tribe, the Bloomstar Tribe. These individuals only have one tribe and keep to themselves in the corner of Magnolia. They are called the Draki and have the ability to access the magic and forms of dragons. Celestials and Draki have never gotten along so they prefer to stay far away from each other.  
“Y-you want me to g-go alone in the territory o-of the Draki?”  
Odessa nods in all seriousness and gives Lucy a dark look. “This part is very important for the ritual to commence. You absolutely have to do it.” Lucy reluctantly nods and Odessa continues, “Once you are there, you have to steal the heart of a dragon. You have to take it from a Draki.”  
Lucy felt bile rise in her throat and had to take a deep breath so that she could swallow it back down. ‘I have to kill someone.’ she thought in a panic ‘I have to take someone’s life.’ Lucy started to shake and gasp for breath.  
“Lucy.”  
Odessa’s calm and assertive voice broke Lucy from her panicked state and she got lost in Odessa’s eyes. “You have to do this. I did it. Every Kadupul has had to do it. Now you will too.”  
Lucy took a shaky breath and wiped her forehead off with the back of her hand. “How did you do it?”  
Odessa’s eyes flashed with what looked like guilt, but it is gone as easily as it came. “Since I was such a late Kadupul, I needed the heart of a very special dragon. He was the king of the Draki at the time and I slowly lured him closer and closer away from his tribe. I promised him love and comfort. Instead I took his heart and did my duty as a leader.” Odessa’s hard eyes shone with what seemed like the beginning of tears. “On the last day I met with him, the day I did the deed, he had brought something for me. I didn’t hesitate. I killed him before I could change my mind. Not until the life left his eyes did I realize that what he brought for me was his son. He wanted me to meet his son.” Tears started to fall down her face. “That little boy was only six. I killed his father. I killed someone who I was actually started to love. It was a hard thing to do and it resulted in war, but we were able to fight back twice as hard since I was at peak power. We reached a stalemate and agreed not to fight again. This might not last since you have to do the same-.”  
“What was his name?” Lucy asked with silent tears trailing down her face.  
Odessa put her hand over heart like it hurt her to even think about it. “His name was Igneel, and I did truly start to love him. I had to sacrifice him for what was right and I don’t regret it in any way.”  
Lucy mulled over Odessa’s words and tried to accept that this would be the role that she would play for her tribe, but one thing just didn’t make sense. “How come Kadupul’s have been killing them for years and they continue to let it happen?” Odessa’s hand reached out to grasp Lucy’s and she stroked Lucy hand with her thumb. “Dragons have always loved shiny things and Kadupuls, well, we shine like the stars.”  
Lucy swallowed the lump that she had in her throat and found her voice once again. “What do we do with the heart, once we steal it?”  
“You bathe with it, amongst the flowers and under the stars. The Dragons have golden blood, you see, and that gives the added power that the ritual needs. Magic runs in their veins just as it does in ours.” Odessa let out a shaky sigh and laid deeper into the bed of flowers. “It seems like my time is up my sweetheart. You must start your journey alone tomorrow, and in a months time you must have that heart here for the ritual, that is when the flowers will bloom. goodbye Lucy, and good luck.”  
And just like that Odessa disappeared into a flash of golden light, leaving Lucy feeling terribly empty and alone in the big temple.  
“I guess I will have to see you in the stars, Odessa.”

**Author's Note:**

> A/N  
> HI GUYS! This is an idea that I found wandering in my head and I finally decided to give it a home on paper... or computer that is. I hope you guys will like it and make sure to leave comments, questions, and concerns!


End file.
